So, here's what we got....... " The Food Choice Challenge ! "

Oh, quit your whining.There is a very good reason behind the madness. First, let's look at our training (try and keep up with the long narrative, Dan (Seawell) ). IT'S HARD. Real hard. One might even call it a 'hard-style.' We are getting stronger. Breaking down and building up muscle is the pattern. The waste products need to be eliminated and are eliminated...for the most part. But, elbows and knees feel tight. Joints, shoulders, backs take a hit and don't feel 100% at times. Take a Motrin. Drink a beer. Drink some wine. Shot of bourbon. Whatever. Body feels a little better and we are back at it. I have had more conversations about tennis elbow, shoulder pain and knee pain in the last 8 weeks than in the entire 6 years I have been doing this KB stuff. These are all symptoms of the same problem. I am not going to get into all the research and studies...it isn't needed. But here is the bottom line...the stuff we eat is the stuff we become. Not only that, the cells actually modify themselves when they replicate to accept and process more crap that we eat which leaves less room for the cell to have receptor sites for the normal items of proper metabolism/nutrition. It is a sick cycle. And I do mean sick...like 'ill.' Cells that are so out of balance they just keep replicating but they have lost function. They become cancers. This isn't rocket science. Rocket science is simple compared to the complexities of this process. This is more important.
So, What's the fix. We are all walking around as toxic waste holding ponds. We have inflammation in our joints, under our eyes and in the lymphs. We continue to eat the foods that cause it so it doesn't go away. Well, my challenge to you is to stop...for 60 days. You have been grazing to your hearts delight your entire adult life. In the 3 weeks you have know about this challenge I have had multiple people want to get 'their food' on the list. Look, you don't have to do this. I really don't care. I know it's needed and you will experience what I experienced June-Sept 1982.
If you ever had your food rationed, you quickly learn things about yourself AND your neighbor. My food was rationed for almost 4 months. I went to boot camp. A real boot camp. There is only one. Not the weekends off, go out in town and call mommy to send you an extra pillow. I'm talkin' The Marine Corps. Any other boot camp doesn't count. Why? Because in the Marines, the time was restricted. Food was rationed and regulated AND freedom was taken away. What other bootcamp does this? None. You go thru the chow line with your sectional tray and hold it out. You get a spoon of scrabbled eggs and you move on. You get the same spoon the guy in front of you and behind you got on their trays. NO REGARD FOR YOUR HEIGHT OR WEIGHT. NO SECOND HELPINGS AND NO TIME TO EAT IT. We all ended up the same shape after 3-4 months. Skinny got lean. Lean stayed lean. Fat got lean. Muscular got lean. We all looked the same. Same with P.O.W.'s...They all look the same. Nobodys 'fat gene' kept them fat. What keeps you fat is shoving crap in your mouth.Every new crop of young nurses that graduates and starts working nights starts getting fat because night nurses eat to stay awake...and they eat crap. You can argue cortisol levels if you want....but your retarded. Sorry.Everyone that uses that argument has a mouthful of crap they are constantly digesting. Whatever. Live your life. But don't feed me your justifications for feeling sick or being fat. There seems to be a trend as we age that we deserve to enjoy ourselves and enjoy the fruits or our labors....by eating rich foods. Oh sure...you never tasted ice cream until you had a good job and a house that is mortgage free. Give me a break. You have been enjoying yourselves the whole way. Well Here's the challenge....( For you spiritual folk, think of it as a nutritional sojourn. Fellow Catholics....think of it as a lent from hell.) Stop eating your stuff and eat this stuff.
Paleo list of approved foods I had a real nice piece I was typing but Linnea gave me a hand out at the studio and it directed me to this fabulous list. I am not one for recreating the wheel. The idea is to eat what cavemen would have been exposed to back in the day. It is how our bodies are genetically wired to best respond. You may not buy that. You may think it's crap. You may be right. A lot of evolution has happened since Paleo' period. Who cares. I can tell you right now that we were never designed to ingest High Fructose Corn Syrup. So relax. It's only 60 days. The list is only half the story. The list is what you can eat. Here's what you can't eat. Gluten. That little word is going to piss off a lot of people. No breads. No pastas. No dairy. No alcohol. NO FAST FOOD. NO POPS. No exceptions. " But Mike, what if it is gluten free bread?" No. It's still bread and it only 60 days. "What about gluten free cookies?" No. It's still bakery goods and it's only 60 days. (see a pattern?) NOW, if your totally lost and completely bummed and extremely agitated that I am expecting you to "go without " for 60 days and you think this is unreasonable. I think you need to reconsider. Consider this.......how weak are you? As a 18 year old punk I went without candy and my favorite stuff for 4 months. Nobody died but, everyone did get diarrhea when we drank our first Coke after abstaining for 4 months. Stomach aches and Diarrhea. That crap is nasty.
Here's what will happen. You will feel better. Much better. Skin will be healthier. Nails will grow longer. You'll sleep better. You'll move better and have more energy.
For those doing the Mud Run. You will have a major event kick starting your metabolism to a very high caloric need for about 3 days. Eat properly and your body will be different your first week.
One last item of note....and it's a big one. Guys.....you get no more than 2000 Kcal a day. Ladies.....you get no more than 1650 Kcal. How you get those calories is your business. Just remember the meats. All meats are very lean meat cuts. I am surprised that pork is on the list. Personally I only eat bacon so it will be easy to get rid of pork altogether.
The caloric intake is based on BMI for average body frames. Welcome to boot camp !!!

WINTER BREAK? NOT LIKELY...

 " Do I look like the mother of the future!? " -Linda Hamilton

 When Cher saw Terminator 2, She told her publicist to find out who trained Linda. She wanted to look like her. Well, Cher never got her body to look like Linda's. Cher is soft. Very soft. At the time, she would have been lucky to look like Sonny. When pushed about the specifics to Linda's training she talked about the heavy weights she was using. She was power lifting and , of course, dieting like crazy. Not restricting calories. Restricting the type of foods she put in her mouth. I love fall/winter. It allows you to pile on the clothes and then there is an unveiling in the spring. At the unveiling we get to see who has been doing the work all winter long and who has been 'storing' for the long winter. Last week I went shopping for some trousers. I have a 33 inch waist. I am a little thicker these days but my clothes actually fit better. So I grabbed some 34's figuring I will wear a belt with them (I am still in love with my double width bridal leather belt...things a weapon and I can set a drink on it). Anyway, the 34's were much larger than I thought. I grabbed the 32's. Same problem. I could pinch about 3-4 inches of fabric at the waist line. So I went home. Grabbed the tape measure. Sure enough, 33 inches. Actually closer to 34. So now I know. The industry is lying about their sizes. In a big way. Then I got on line and Googled womens dress sizes. Well, back the truck up. A mass of articles popped up about the way the industry is resizing and has been resizing the dress sizes to attract women to their line and make everyone feel better. The joke is, if they didn't have extra petite, the dress size would need to be 'minus one'. So now your a size six and have 35% body fat at a height of 6' 1".  What is that? Crap. Can we say it again? Crapola.  My point? Get a tape measure. This is how we measure success and failure. Yes, failure. Measure yourself today and every 2 weeks through the fall and winter. Are you getting the results you desire? If not, what are we going to do about it? You tell me. There are only two ways to change your body. 1) Eat less/more  2) Train less/more.  That's it. Secrets out. Lock the doors. Pull the shades. Linnea P. told me recently she has lost well over 20 inches from her body. It was a total off her arms, waist, chest, hips, thighs. It illustrates the point that size comes off in layers. "Sheets" we like to say. You cannot target an area. Your arm may feel firmer because you are training arms more but we don't observe what you feel. The fat that constitutes 50% of the width of your arm is hiding what your feeling good about. Everyone has a six pack. It is just hidden by the extra layers on top of it.   Time to get the look you want and watch the progress. This is going to be a looooong winter if you believe the Farmers Almanac and the fact that the acorns have dropped. No need to endurance diet for spring break if we start now. 

  Tomorrow. Heavy. Low reps. Bring your Grit!!

~nuf said.